The present disclosure relates to apparatus and methods for transporting, manipulating and loading/unloading materials and equipment.
Currently, there are numerous truck rack, loading and/or unloading devices, methods and technologies in the market. Many of these, while effective, have limited utility in that they may not optimize ease of loading and/or loading, and they may be used to transport only materials of substantial length. Additionally, such technologies may be cumbersome to use, unsightly, and inhibit access to the truck bed.
There are also numerous truck bed ramp technologies available for loading and unloading wheeled equipment, such as for example, vehicles, tools, machinery, equipment, and the like. Loading such heavy items in this manner, however, is strenuous and involves a substantial likelihood of serious injury to an operator. Furthermore, such ramps require storage which may be impractical if a truck bed is near its storage capacity.
Lastly, there are available lift arm technologies which may be mounted in a truck bed, for example, in a corner thereof, to load and unload heavy items. Such technologies suffer from several drawbacks including their unsightly appearance and difficulty of installation. Additionally, such technologies are limited to the function of lifting and placing loads in a limited range of positions in a truck bed.
Thus, there is a need in the art for a multi-use apparatus which may facilitate the loading/unloading of materials and equipment as well as function as a rack for transporting materials of varied length and which overcomes the deficiencies of the existing technologies.